


2 Say

by TheBrightestNight



Series: love is stored in the cut fruit [2]
Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Fluff, Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, One-Shot, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29318688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrightestNight/pseuds/TheBrightestNight
Summary: "[...] cut fruit is a gift." Connie Wang
Relationships: Frank Zhang & Hazel Levesque
Series: love is stored in the cut fruit [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2153592
Kudos: 1





	2 Say

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 2 of a fun little series I've had in mind for years now, but never had a theme (other than the lyrics) to tie them together, and never really had any ideas to write more than like two. Now I'm in enough fandoms that I actually write for to do this, it's been several years, and I finally found a theme I like.
> 
> Titles for each come from Plain White T's song, _1234_.
> 
> Theme inspired by, and quote in summary taken from, [THIS ARTICLE](https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/05/9747262/asian-cut-fruit)
> 
>  **Extra Disclaimer:** While this is Valentines-adjacent, I would like to make it crystal clear that I do not ship these two, romantically and/or sexually, given their age difference. This is strictly and only friendship love.
> 
>  **Other Notes:** I don't remember how Camp Jupiter is set up and, frankly, I don't care. So I'm fudging some things to fit the narrative lmao
> 
> many thanks to [@shelbychild](https://shelbychild.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

It probably wasn't Franks _wisest_ choice, considering he was _probatio_. A greenleaf _probatio_ , no less. But he also knew how Hazel was feeling right now, and he would've appreciated someone extending their hand in offered friendship. Just because he'd had to suffer through it alone, didn't mean Hazel had to, too.

As tough as it was for him, he could only imagine how much worse it felt being a child of Pluto. He saw how the others avoided her like a single brush from her might kill them. (Ignoring the fact that Pluto wasn't even the god of death.) Nico was hardly there, so she had no one. And Frank could see the toll it was taking on her.

Through some under-the-table deals, he'd managed to score some time in the kitchens, where the wind spirits cooked their food (not while they were there, obviously; that would've been a disaster), and an unlimited supply of grapes. When he found some free time, he went down to the kitchens and began his task, careful and meticulous.

It was a lot harder than he remembered, but once he fell into the groove of things, he moved faster. It was a bit like riding a bike…but to the left. Meaning, relatively easy to pick back up again, but there was still a learning curve when first starting.

There were a lot of imperfect ones at first. It was a little disheartening, but that was kind of the nice thing about this whole process: getting to eat the imperfect ones for himself. As time went on, the less and less he made mistakes. Until, finally, he had filled the bowl with grapes to his content.

Letting out a small sigh of relief and partial mental exhaustion, Frank set the bowl of grapes aside and began cleaning up.

* * *

Frank quietly crept up, not wanting to disturb Hazel too early but also not wanting to actually sneak up on her. She was lying on her bed, back turned to him, curled up. When he was a few feet away, he cleared his throat and said, "Hazel?"

She shifted, lifting her head slightly to look at him over her shoulder. Her expression was guarded.

"I, uh...brought you a snack," he said, holding out the bowl.

Hazel frowned. Her eyes went from Frank's face to the bowl, and back again. Finally, she turned and sat up.

"What is it?" she asked, still guarded.

Frank moved closer, lowering the bowl. "Grapes."

Hazel blinked, her guarded expression dropping for a second when she saw them. Carefully, she reached into the bowl and pulled one out. It was one of those large grapes, cut in half so the seed was taken out, and, to Hazel's surprise, peeled.

She looked back into the bowl and saw that they were all that way—halved, seedless, and peeled.

"Did you _peel_ all those grapes?" she asked, incredulous, still holding the half she'd picked up.

Frank faltered. "Do you not like peeled grapes? I know some people think it's weird." He started to pull the bowl back.

"No!" Hazel quickly exclaimed, startling him. The bowl wiggled in his hand but he reached up with his free hand to steady it. "I'm just…surprised is all. I don't think I've ever eaten a peeled grape before."

Before Frank could respond, she popped the half she still held into her mouth. "Hmm. But I certainly like it!"

Frank let out a big breath and smiled. "I'm glad. Sorry, I should've thought about that before I did this—well, anyway." He stepped forward quickly to set the bowl down next to her, on the bed, and stepped away.

"Oh, please, sit," Hazel said, moving the bowl into her lap and patting the spot next to her.

"Oh, uh…" Frank swallowed and haltingly moved to sit down.

"Did you peel _all_ these? Individually? By hand?" Hazel asked, popping another half-grape into her mouth and looking over at him.

"Yeah, it's…it's something my grandma taught me," he said, sheepishly.

"Wow, this must've taken you _forever_." Hazel pushed the grapes around. "They're all perfectly peeled. _And_ seeded. That's incredible." She held the bowl up to him. "Want one?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't," Frank said, almost automatically.

Hazel's eyebrows furrowed as she lowered the bowl.

"Oh, well, I've already had my fill," Frank edited. "Besides, I made these especially for you."

Hazel didn't quite seem to get it, but she accepted it. "That's very sweet," she said with a small smile. "Thanks, Frank."

Frank beamed back. "Always happy to."

**Author's Note:**

> next one will be posted tomorrow! keeping the next fandom a surprise ;)
> 
> reblog on tumblr [here](https://awayofunderstandingit.tumblr.com/post/642846914050736128/one-shot-2-say)
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciated ^_^
> 
> Thank you for reading,  
> TheBrightestNight


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